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South African cardiac surgeon Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first successful human-to-human heart transplant on 3 December 1967.

The operation was performed at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.

The heart-transplant recipient was Louis Washkansky, who suffered from severe heart disease. The donor was Denise Darvall, who had died following a road accident.

The transplant was technically successful and the new heart functioned, although Washkansky survived for only 18 days after the operation and died from pneumonia. At that time, the immunosuppressive therapy used to prevent organ rejection created a very high risk of infection.

Barnard's operation played a historic role in the development of modern heart transplantation.

Remember—

First human-to-human heart transplant → Christiaan Barnard → 3 December 1967 → Cape Town, South Africa